| A
'Southern' Perspective on Climate Change |
 Adil
Najam - Director of the Boston University
Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future
Mr. Najam
teaches courses on: Developing Countries and the Global Politics
of Sustainable Development and International Multilateral Negotiation
and Directs an important new Center
at Boston University.
Adil Najam,
et. al., "Climate
negotiations beyond Kyoto: developing countries concerns and
interests," Climate Policy, 3 (2003), pp. 221–231.
Adil Najam,
et. al., "Integrating
sustainable development into the Fourth Assessment: Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change," Climate
Policy, (2003).
Adil Najam
and Cutler J. Cleveland, "Energy
and Sustainable Development at Global Environmental Summits:
An Evolving Agenda," Environment, Development and Sustainability,
5 (2003), pp. 117–138.
You
should become familiar with the proceedings of the World
Climate Conference (COP 13) in Bali, Indonesia (December
3-15, 2007). Links to the complete video-webcasts of
the plenery sessions and related news briefings are
available by clicking on the COP
13 - Bali Conference link.
The
UNFCCC -- the convening body for the Bali Conference
-- has provided access to important selected photos,
documents and videocasts through a convenient summary
page on their website. They have been highly motivated
to get the news out about this conference, in part,
because they do not want to rely on the corporate press
to get this information to the people. As a result they
have posted their key summaries directly to YouTube.
In addition, further current news on climate issues
is available through the news titles in the right hand
column and the <==
climate news portals listed at the left.
Was
Bali more important that we realized?
Would this story be reported if the dramatic scenes
of Bali had not taken place?
|
|
Background:
In the past it was customary to recognize
the cultural divide between the so-called "East" and the
"West," but growing issues of persistant poverty, debt
and development have highlighted the growing gap between countries
of the industrial world in the 'North' and those in the tropics,
or the global 'South.' Just as many different perspectives on climate
change issues have developed in the countries of the 'North', so,
too, in the global 'South' a wide variety of view points of view
have emerged. Scientists from regions in the global South have participated
in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this
context their views have added a global perspective to the concerns
of the scientific community based principally in the industrialized
world. |
Because of the complexity of the global
climate system, changes in global climate will not affect all areas
equally or in the same manner. Some areas are likely to experience
shifts in temperature and rainfall that will place them under considerable
stress, and their ability to respond effectively will depend in part
on the resources they can mobilize in response to change. In general
this will mean that populations in poorer countries in the global
South may well be more vulnerable to climate change than those in
the industrial countries of the North. At the same time, it is apparent
to those monitoring global greenhouse gas emissions that the majority
of these have in the past come from countries in the North and for
several years to come this will continue to be the case. |
The result of this asymmetry is that
there are sometimes different perspectives and frquently a marked
differences in the sense of urgency about climate issues in the countries
of the global North and those of the global South. The following news
items, for example, highlight some of the striking differences that
have already emerged and are likely to increase as climate change
proceeds. |
| Kirby,
Alex |
| |
"Warming
world's winners and losers," BBC World Service, (8
November, 2000, 19:00 GMT, Wednesday). |
| |
"The
researchers have established that those most at risk from
global warming produce the smallest quantities of greenhouse
gases." |
|
Additional Readings:
Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change (SEG), United Nations
Foundation - Sigma XI, et al.
|
| |
2007 |
Confronting
Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable
- Report prepared for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development, (Triangle Park, NC, Washington, DC.,,
Sigma Xi, Research, The United Nations Foundation, 26 February
2007). |
|
|
Video
of Lectures
